Alex Caruso was a beloved member of the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the championship over the Miami Heat in 2020. The former bench guard for the Lakers almost undid that with one statement following the Oklahoma City Thunder's championship victory on Sunday.
"Yeah, now I got a real one. Now, no one can say anything," Caruso joked at the postgame press conference following the Thunder's decisive 103-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Lakers fans are undoubtedly sick of the narratives and talking points surrounding the validity of the 2020 championship. Hearing Caruso feed into those discussion would have been heartbreaking had it not been for the clear statement made by the Thunder guard on Twitter/X after the fact.
I had 3 beers already, it’s SARCASM!!
-two time https://t.co/coxn1bDpKp
— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) June 23, 2025
Caruso made it clear to anyone taking those comments out of context that he was absolutely joking around. This gave reassurance to Lakers fans everywhere there was no need for tomatoes, pitchforks, or a burn book with his face in it.
Trolling narratives are as inevitable as they are inconsequential for Lakers' 2020 title
Caruso was obviously poking fun at how the vocal minority discuss the 2020 championship won in the NBA Bubble. There was really nothing more to it. However, the Twitter discourse was ready to run wild with the comments before the two-time champion shut it down.
Los Angeles fans know the narratives about their latest title are largely inspired by the fact that it was the Lakers and the figurehead of that championship was LeBron James. Despite that, any annoyance with the reccurance of those conversations is certainly understandable.
The 2019-20 Lakers were an absolutely loaded roster. Caruso was one of the many talented role players surrounding the superstar duo of James and Anthony Davis. Stacking up that championship team against any of the past 10 winners of the Larry O'Brien would showcase just how good that group was.
The NBA, and the world, were facing unprecedented times with a global pandemic in 2020. An unfamiliar pathway to a championship has deluded too many into devaluing an accomplishment that should be held in much higher regard.
The easiest way for the NBA community to move past these silly narratives would be seeing Rob Pelinka build a championship contender around Luka Doncic this offseason. An NBA title in 2025-26 would quickly take that 2020 victory out of the spotlight, for better or for worse.